OPELOUSAS, Louisiana (AP) — Two inmates accused of violent crimes, including second-degree attempted murder, are on the run after escaping from a southwestern Louisiana jail Wednesday by removing pieces of a degrading wall and using sheets to scale a wall, officials said. A third inmate who joined in the breakout killed himself after he was tracked down.
It was the latest bold jail escape in Louisiana. Earlier this year 10 inmates broke out of a New Orleans jail after crawling through a hole behind a toilet. It wasn't until five months later — following the discovery of the escape crime scene with a message that read “To Easy LoL," finger-pointing by officials as to who was to blame for the audacious escape and a search that spanned multiple states — that all 10 inmates were recaptured.
Wednesday morning's escape, which took place at the St. Landry Parish Jail, involved three inmates. Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz, who oversees the jail in Opelousas, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans, said the "inmates discovered a degrading part of an upper wall area and over time, removed the mortar allowing them to remove concrete blocks and provide their exit.”
The inmates then used “sheets and other items” to scale the outer wall and “drop onto” the first floor roof, before “lowering themselves to the ground,” Guidroz said in a press release.
Additional details about the escape were not immediately available. Guidroz said it will be investigated internally.
The sheriff’s office identified the two escaped inmates still on the loose as Keith Eli, 24, of Opelousas, who was facing a second-degree attempted murder charge, and Johnathan Jevon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas, who was facing several charges, including principal to first-degree rape.
The third escapee, Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, who faced several felony charges, including home invasion, killed himself after he was found, Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux said by telephone.
After a tipster who recognized Harrington told police on Thursday that he was seen pushing a black e-bike, an officer spotted the e-bike at a nearby home. Police used a loudspeaker to urge Harrington to come out of the home, and they later heard a gunshot. Harrington was found dead inside the home. He had shot himself with a hunting rifle, Boudreaux said.
Sheriff’s department spokesperson Maj. Mark LeBlanc wasn’t aware of the building being breached in a similar way in the past, but noted that anyone will try to escape with enough time and opportunity.
“These three were just a little more creative than in years past,” he said.
There’s no credible indications that the escapees have left the parish, so LeBlanc warned residents to secure their homes and vehicles.
“They’re charged with violent felonies and we know they’re desperate to get away,” he said.
Anyone who helps the escapees will be prosecuted, he said.
This photo provided by St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office shows Johnathan Jevon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas, one of three inmates who escaped from a southwestern Louisiana jail, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office via AP)
This photo provided by St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office shows Keith Eli, 24, of Opelousas, one of three inmates who escaped from a southwestern Louisiana jail, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office via AP)
This photo provided by St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office shows Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, one of three inmates who escaped from a southwestern Louisiana jail, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office via AP)
Chelsea was fined $14.3 million but avoided a points deduction after admitting to breaching Premier League rules in relation to undisclosed payments of more than $60 million during its previous ownership under Roman Abramovich.
Sanction agreements were reached, the league said Monday, after Chelsea self-reported potential breaches to the Football Association that came to light in 2022 when American investors Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital led a consortium to buy out Abramovich for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion).
Payments worth around 47 million pounds ($62.5 million) were made from third-party entities which, the Premier League said, were “controlled by or associated with” Abramovich to unlicensed agents and individuals connected to selling clubs, facilitating transfers for players including Eden Hazard, David Luiz, Samuel Eto’o and Willian.
“It was established that between 2011 and 2018, undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties,” the league said in a statement.
“These payments were not disclosed to the football regulatory authorities at the time, including the Premier League.”
The undisclosed payments “were made for the benefit of Chelsea,” the statement said, “and should have been treated as having been made by the club.”
They “constituted a breach of the requirement to act in good faith towards the league,” the competition said.
Chelsea accepted fines totaling 10.75 million pounds ($14.3 million), which were ratified by an independent commission, and was given an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban and a suspended one-year transfer ban for first-team players.
No points deduction was applied, however.
The club said it was “pleased” to reach a settlement with the Premier League.
“From the outset of this process,” Chelsea said in its own statement, “the club has treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators.”
The league noted Chelsea's “proactive self-reporting, admissions of breach and exceptional cooperation throughout the investigation acted as significant mitigating factors,” with the club sharing more than 200,000 documents with the Premier League.
The league also said it was satisfied that Chelsea “in no scenario” would have breached the league's profitability and sustainability rules in those periods if the payments made had been properly included in the club’s accounts.
These factors helped to reduce the fine by around 50% and meant a points penalty was not deemed appropriate.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior said the sanctions would not be a “negative distraction” to the team.
“I think actually that’s a line drawn through that issue and we can move on and we can plan to make this club as strong as possible in the long term,” he said at a news conference Monday ahead of a Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea's new owners have been fined on multiple occasions by UEFA for financial breaches.
In 2023, during the first year of new regime, Chelsea paid UEFA a 10 million euros (then $11.8 million) fine to settle irregularities committed while the club was owned by Abramovich, who was forced to sell the club after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. That was also self-reported by the club.
Last year, Chelsea was fined 20 million euros (then $23.6 million) for failing to approach break-even and a further 11 million euros ($13 million) for spending more than an 80% set limit of its revenue on so-called “squad cost” such as transfers and wages.
A separate disciplinary process conducted by the Football Association is ongoing and relates to the same breaches for which Chelsea has been sanctioned by the Premier League.
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Chelsea's manager Liam Rosenior during a training session in Stoke d'Abernon, England, Monday March 16, 2026, ahead of the Champions League soccer match against Paris Saint-Germain. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
Chelsea players celebrate after a goal during the fifth round FA Cup soccer match between Wrexham and Chelsea in Wrexham, Wales, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
